Designation: C 142 – 97 American Association of State

Highway and Transportation Officials Standard

AASHTO No. T112

Standard Test Method for

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Clay Lumps and Friable Particles in Aggregates1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation C 142; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of

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original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

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1. Scope 4.3 Sieves—Sieves conforming to Specification E 11.
4.4 Drying Oven—An oven providing free circulation of air

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1.1 This test method covers the approximate determination
of clay lumps and friable particles in aggregates. and capable of maintaining a temperature of 110 6 5°C (230 6
1.2 The values given in SI units are to be regarded as the 9°F).

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standard. The values given in parentheses are provided for 5. Samples
information purposes only.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the 5.1 Aggregate for this test method shall consist of the
material remaining after completion of testing in accordance

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safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- with Test Method C 117. To provide the quantities designated
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- in 5.3 and 5.4 it may be necessary to combine material from

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more than one test by Test Method C 117.

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bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
5.2 Dry the aggregate to substantially constant mass at a
2. Referenced Documents temperature of 110 6 5°C (230 6 9°F).
5.3 Test samples of fine aggregate shall consist of the
2.1 ASTM Standards:
C 33 Specification for Concrete Aggregates2
C 117 Test Method for Materials Finer Than 75-µm (No. ar
particles coarser than a 1.18-mm (No. 16) sieve and shall have
a mass not less than 25 g.
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200) Sieve in Mineral Aggregates by Washing2 5.4 Separate the test samples of coarse aggregate into
C 125 Terminology Relating to Concrete and Concrete different sizes, using the following sieves: 4.75-mm (No. 4),
Aggregates2 9.5-mm (3⁄8-in.), 19.0-mm (3⁄4-in.), and 37.5-mm (11⁄2-in.). The
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C 1005 Specification for Reference Masses and Devices for test sample shall have a mass not less than indicated in the
Determining Mass for Use in the Physical Testing of following table:
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Hydraulic Cements3 Size of Particles Making Up Mass of Test Sample,

Test Sample min, g
E 11 Specification for Wire-Cloth Sieves for Testing Pur-
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poses4 4.75 to 9.5-mm (No. 4 to 3⁄8-in.) 1000

9.5 to 19.0-mm (3⁄8 to 3⁄4-in.) 2000
3. Significance and Use 19.0 to 37.5-mm (3⁄4 to 11⁄2-in.) 3000
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Over 37.5-mm (11⁄2-in.) 5000

3.1 This test method is of primary significance in determin-
ing the acceptability of aggregate with respect to the require- 5.5 In the case of mixtures of fine and coarse aggregates,
separate the material on the 4.75-mm (No. 4) sieve, and
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ments of Specification C 33.

prepare the samples of fine and coarse aggregates in accor-
4. Apparatus dance with 5.3 and 5.4.
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4.1 Balance—A balance or scale accurate to within 0.1 % of

6. Procedure
the mass of the test sample at any point within the range of use.
Balances shall conform to the accuracy of the applicable 6.1 Determine the mass of the test sample to the accuracy
sections of Specification C 1005. specified in 4.1 and spread it in a thin layer on the bottom of the
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4.2 Containers—Rust-resistant containers of a size and container, cover it with distilled water, and soak it for a period
shape that will permit the spreading of the sample on the of 24 6 4 h. Roll and squeeze particles individually between
bottom in a thin layer. the thumb and forefinger to attempt to break the particle into
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smaller sizes. Do not use the fingernails to break up particles,

1 or press particles against a hard surface or each other. Classify
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C-9 on Concrete
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and Concrete Aggregates and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C09.20 on any particles that can be broken with the fingers into fines
Normal Weight Aggregates. removable by wet sieving as clay lumps or friable particles.
Current edition approved Aug. 10, 1997. Published October 1998. Originally After all discernible clay lumps and friable particles have been
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published as C 142 – 38 T. Last previous edition C 142 – 78 (1990).

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Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 04.02.
broken, separate the detritus from the remainder of the sample
3
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 04.01. by wet sieving over the sieve prescribed in the following table:
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Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 14.02.

Copyright © ASTM, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.

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 C 142
Size of Sieve for Removing 7.2 For coarse aggregates, the percent of clay lumps and
Size of Particles Making Up Residue of Clay Lumps and friable particles shall be an average based on the percent of
Sample Friable Particles
clay lumps and friable particles in each sieve size fraction

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Fine aggregate (retained on 850-µm (No. 20) weighted in accordance with the grading of the original sample
1.18-mm (No. 16) sieve) before separation or, preferably, the average grading of the
4.75 to 9.5-mm (No. 4 to 3⁄8-in.) 2.36-mm (No. 8)
9.5 to 19.0-mm (3⁄8 to 3⁄4-in.) 4.75-mm (No. 4) supply represented by the sample. Should the aggregate con-
19.0 to 37.5-mm (3⁄4 to 11⁄2-in.) 4.75-mm (No. 4) tain less than 5 % of any of the sizes specified in 6.1, that size

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Over 37.5-mm (11⁄2-in.) 4.75-mm (No. 4) shall not be tested but, for the purpose of calculating the
Perform the wet sieving by passing water over the sample weighted average, shall be considered to contain the same
through the sieve while manually agitating the sieve, until all percent of clay lumps and friable particles as the next larger or

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undersize material has been removed. next smaller size, whichever is present.

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6.2 Remove the retained particles carefully from the sieve,
dry to substantially constant mass at a temperature of 110 6 8. Precision and Bias
5°C (230 6 9°F), allow to cool, and determine the mass to the 8.1 Precision5—The estimate of the precision of this test

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nearest 0.1 % of the mass of the test sample as defined in 5.3 method is provisional and is based on samples of one fine
or 5.4. aggregate which was tested by ten different operators at nine
different laboratories. For that sample, the average “percent of
7. Calculation clay lumps and friable particles” in the aggregate was 1.2 %,

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7.1 Calculate the percent of clay lumps and friable particles and the standard deviation was 0.6 %. Based on this standard
in fine aggregate or individual sizes of coarse aggregate as deviation, the acceptable range of two test results on samples

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follows: from the same aggregate sent to different laboratories is 1.7 %.

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P 5 @~M 2 R!/M# 3 100 (1) 8.2 Bias—Since there is no acceptable reference material
for determining the bias for the procedure in this test method,
where:
P 5 percent of clay lumps and friable particles,
M 5 mass of test sample (for fine aggregate the mass of the ar
no statement is being made.

9. Keywords
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portion coarser than the 1.18-mm (No. 16) sieve as 9.1 aggregates; clay lumps; friable particles
described in 5.3), and
R 5 mass of particles retained on designated sieve as
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determined in accordance with 6.2. 5

A research report is on file at ASTM Headeuarters. Request RR:C09-1016.
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This standard is subject to revision at any time by the responsible technical committee and must be reviewed every five years and
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if not revised, either reapproved or withdrawn. Your comments are invited either for revision of this standard or for additional standards
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